This patent application relates specifically to baseball or softball inner thigh and frontal thigh protector pads for the player who begins play by squatting behind a batter and spreading their legs. This is usually referred to as the catcher or umpire. In the beginning years of baseball catchers wore no protective gear and would stand well behind the batter. Over the years, rule changes made the catcher move closer to home plate. When catchers are so close to the batter reaction time is not fast enough to stop ball impacts from foul balls or bad pitches.
Squatting behind a batter with the legs spread leaves a catcher's thighs vulnerable to impacts from balls. High speed ball impacts to the front thigh or inner thigh can leave a catcher temporarily incapacitated, writhing on the ground in pain while the game continues on around them. When my youth-league son was playing catcher, a high-speed ball impacted his inner thigh and he had to be removed from the game.
Determined to prevent this from reoccurring I searched for a piece of equipment or device if you will, that could be worn on the outside of the uniform, provide a level of ballistic protection equal to the rest of the catchers gear, be easily put on and removed for batting and base running, be comfortable enough to wear through nine innings of play and protect an area of the thigh from the inner thigh to the outer thigh and from the patella to the pubis.
Thigh protection that is out on the market for sale is extensive, with thigh pads for Football, La Crosse, Cricket, Martial Arts, Rugby, and other contact sports. Yet a review of all the thigh pads available reveal several deficiencies compared to the requirements listed above.
Pads for football are designed for the front of the thigh U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,571 (1955) Grant. These types of pads are for preventing “quadriceps contusion” and its most serious manifestation, myositis ossificans, boney tumors which can cause debilitating pain Sodl, et al, (2008). Some of the pads even protect the side of the thigh U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,686 (1984) Zide. None of these pads provide protection to the inner thigh and they do not completely cover the frontal thigh. Since these pads are worn inside the pants in internal pockets, the pads are not removable and must be worn the whole game. These kinds of pads will affect the running ability of the person wearing them. When a catcher bats and runs the bases they need the freedom to move like other players who aren't wearing protective gear.
The pads for Cricket, Rugby, La Crosse, and the other such sports suffered from the same deficiencies. They are designed to protect various parts of the outer and frontal thigh. None of these pads would have protected my son because he was struck on the inner thigh close to the pubis, specifically on portions of the semitendinosus muscle, the gracilis muscle, and part of the adductor longus muscle.
The construction or style of these types of pads reflects the specific needs of each sport. Players in these sports need to be quite mobile for their playing positions. They need to be able to run forward, backward, as well as laterally, and do it fast! Someone who is running is someone who is standing. A baseball or softball catcher is a playing position unlike these sports. They begin their play by assuming a squatting position with their legs spread open. The catcher does not have to be as mobile as other sports since the majority of their play involves the immediate area around home plate.
Protective thigh pads that are removable can have a more robust impact resistance than an internally worn pad. There is a garment design for a pad to protect the inner thigh specifically U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,222 (2000) Strickland, Cheatwood. This pad would not be suitable for the protection catchers like my son require. Not only do these pads not offer frontal thigh protection leaving significant areas unprotected, but the ballistic protection afforded the inner thigh is not robust enough for high speed impacts. The level of protection required is the same ballistic protection a catcher's mask, chest protector, or shin guard would provide. It is a level of protection where a player can take a direct hit from a fast pitch and be unharmed. Unharmed, their confidence to withstand more ball impacts grows until fear of pain is banished from their mind. An additional problem is the garment pads are not removable from the garment, so the catcher would have to bat and run while wearing these pads slowing them down.
Other types of thigh protection can be seen in the construction industry U.S. Pat. No. 6,519,775 (2003) Garcia. Most of these are designed to protect the front of the thigh from abrasions. Other pads for protecting the frontal thigh were examined and still they would not offer the needed protection for someone squatting with their legs spread U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,886 (1941) McCoy. Additionally these pads hang loose and are not firmly attached circumferentially around the thigh. Wearing a pad that does not stay in place could injure the player or leave gaps for ball strikes.
During my search for inner and frontal thigh protection a protective garment was found which protected the inner thigh U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,050 (2000) Hooper-Jackson. Still the kind of protection offered was protection from friction between the thighs, the most serious injury being a friction rash. This type of inner thigh padding would provide limited if any protection from a ball impact.
Assuming your playing position by squatting isn't the only way a catcher's thigh gets impacted by balls. Poorly thrown pitches by the pitcher that strike the ground in front of home plate are called dirt balls. When pitches are thrown in the dirt, we train our youth-league catchers to drop to their knees and block the ball with their body, or as we like to say “assume the blocking position”. Dropping to your knees exposes the frontal thigh and the inner thigh to direct ball impacts. At the youth-league level an astounding number of pitches are in the dirt and I have sent catcher after catcher to go get beaten up behind home plate. After too much of this the kids shy away from playing catcher and then you have to order someone to play the position. Clearly what is needed is thigh protection where the kid's thighs are protected from injury.
Pulling a catcher out of a game because of ball impacts may not seem like such a big deal. Still, starting at the high school level, then college level, and lastly the major leagues, the catcher is the player who calls the plays for the game. The day or night before the game, they study the statistics for the opposing team's batters and plan a strategy for each one. During the game, this strategy is communicated to the pitcher through a series of hand signs. Since the catcher has the best view of the field, they also call the plays for infielders and outfielders, usually communicating this through arm or hand signals. Pitchers come and go during the game but a catcher is rarely replaced. They normally play a full game and taking out a catcher can have a huge effect.
None of the protective pads reviewed so far would provide impact protection to the full inner and frontal thigh in the blocking position against dirt balls. At best they would only provide partial protection.
Concluding my search I found that there was no device which could be worn on the outside like the rest of the traditional gear, provide a level of ballistic protection equal to the rest of the catchers gear, be easily put on and removed for batting and base running, be comfortable enough to wear through nine innings of play and lastly protect an area of the thigh from the inner thigh to the outer thigh and from the patella to the pubis.